Broadband not as fast as it claims

The consumer report magazine Which? has shown that internet providers are being misleading with their claims about the speed their broadband operates at. A survey of 300 customers’ internet connections showed that the average speed they were receiving was 2.7Mbps (megabits per second) as opposed to the 8Mbps advertised with the package. Some of the lowest speeds recorded only reached 0.09Mbps with the fastest only attaining 6.7Mbps. Which? has therefore asked Ofcom and Trading Standards to investigate the claims of broadband providers. One internet service provider (ISP) BT admitted that advertised speeds of 8Mbps were highly unlikely ever to be achieved, saying that you would have to live practically on top of the exchange to get that speed. This supports further investigations by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) that the further away from the exchange you live the slower your connection will be. ASA discovered this through investigating claims against internet service provider Bulldog, and ruled that they must advertise that broadband speed depends on where you live. Other factors which affect the broadband speed you receive are; how many homes are being served by the local telephone exchange, the length and gauge of the line from the exchange, any electromagnetic interference from other lines in a cable or wiring within your home, and the type of modem you have.

The analyst firm Point Topic has said that consumers have just resigned themselves to the fact that they are not going to get really fast broadband any time in the near future. This is supported by the fact that a survey accompanying the speed tests amongst customers showed that most people doubted that a broadband service connection advertised as 8Mbps would actually ever reach that speed. However the speed tests were carried out following complaints to the consumer magazine about the speeds of their internet connections. At the moment BT is improving its telephone exchanges as part of its 21st Century Network (21CN) programme, which will create the potential for broadband speeds of up to 24Mbps which will be available from 2008.

Source:
BBC News